Thurles cancelled due to fog This afternoon’s meeting at Thurles has been cancelled due to heavy fog. The Co. Tipperary track was due to host a seven-race card beginning at 12.10pm featuring the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Boreen Belle Mares Novice Hurdle. The stewards put the starting time back half an hour to 12.40pm with proposed half-hour intervals and the runners for the first race were at the start for a number of minutes before being recalled to the enclosure. The meeting was finally cancelled at 1.10pm. Clerk Of The Course Lorcan Wyer explained the course of events saying, “At around 8am this morning it was a little misty but fog was not an issue. One hour later that picture changed dramatically as the fog came in and there was a problem. “Met Eireann then updated their fog warning, which was due to lift at 10am this morning, to extend to Sunday morning so that transpired against us. “The main feature of the fog was that it seemed to come and go. During the morning when we were driving around to try and gauge things you would get a clear patch and a pocket of denser fog and you come back on a second spin and it changed. “You need to be able to see from bend to fence and from fence to where you pick up the next bend. That changed nearly every time we went around. “We delayed the first race by half an hour and the riders were happy to go to the start. “When they got to the start they could see the first fence clearly and were very happy but within 30 seconds that changed and they could barely see the first fence. They could make out the outline but couldn’t actually see the racing line and I agreed with their opinion. “With it being the shortest day of the year we only have so much time to play with and the stewards made a decision to cancel the meeting.”
